Cleaning or decontaminating of effluent gases, as opposed to cleaning or contaminating effluent liquids present a unique problem to the environment.
A variety of bioadsorbents have been employed over the years for the treatment of gases to either detoxify or reduce their odor. The types of molecules removed are generally related to the functionalized biopolymers from which the bioadsorbent is composed. These bioadsorbants include, cellulose, alginates, chitin, chitosan and carrageenan. In addition ‘activated’ microporous materials such as activated carbon, activated silica and molecular sieves have also been used.
A problem associated with the use of purified extracts for gas treatment lies not only in the cost of extraction but in their efficacy.
It is known from the prior art to “scrub” volatile zinc fumes produced from hot dip galvanizing plants by using crushed limestone. The crushed limestone is allowed to contact the zinc fumes in a filter bag arrangement so as to bind the zinc, thereafter the bound zinc/limestone is disposed of However, a problem with this method of scrubbing metal fumes is that not all of the metal becomes bound to the limestone. Moreover the bound metal is not easily recoverable from the limestone and the bound product in itself is difficult to dispose of.
The present invention provides an alternative bioadsorbant material and a method of producing and using it which is not only more cost effective than prior art material but is more efficient at extracting component(s)/pollutants from the fumes/gas vapors.